Violence answers the wrong question
People will ask, so I’ll answer: the efforts by Albin Kurti’s “Self-determination” to block road crossings between Serbia and Kosovo are violent and unacceptable. The Pristina authorities are right to counter it with their police forces. They should do it professionally to minimize injuries, but they need to do it. Albanians are no more justified in blocking roads than Serbs in northern Kosovo were several weeks ago.
Why is this happening? It is happening because Albin sees votes in it. He has staked out a position in Kosovo politics that includes sharply contesting Serbia at every turn, advocating union with Albania and rejecting the internationally imposed Ahtisaari plan under which Kosovo gained independence. He is entitled to take all these positions, with which I disagree. But he is not entitled to physically challenge the Kosovo authorities.
I have talked with Albin about this and many other issues. I have even pressed for the State Department to give him a visa to come to the U.S., where he would hear from a lot more people like me who think he is doing the wrong things. He wants the visa. But he isn’t going to get one until he stops the violence.
There likely isn’t much chance of that until the people of Kosovo make it clear that violence does not win their votes. Even then, Albin may be so addicted that he will continue, but hopefully associates will rein him in. They would do best to start now, before this ends in tragedy.
The right question for Kosovars today is not how they can best fight Serb oppressors, but how they can best govern themselves. Even in its current democratized form, Serbia has not made that an easy question to answer: it has refused to recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty and independence, to withdraw its security forces from the north and to allow Kosovo’s authorities to control the border. But those are issues that need to be solved by negotiation, not violent challenges to Kosovo’s legitimate authorities.
That said, Albin and Self-determination are products of the Kosovo political system. So long as they forswear violence, they are entitled to participate and press their perspective. But they won’t be helping to govern Kosovo the way it should be governed. Voters will have to decide whether to reward them, or not.
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9 thoughts on “Violence answers the wrong question”
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RTK was all giddy with your comments tonight. By condoning police brutality (yes, you talk about measured action but I guess that’s a matter of degree) you’ve made it that much easier on Hashim Thaci to brutalize peaceful protesters.
How fortunate there happened to be a few water cannon in the country – if police have to crack down on peaceful, stone-throwing mobs, it’s best they have the equipment to finish the job as quickly as possible, lessening the chance of injuries.
Kosovo is a democracy, which does not mean a “mob-ruled state.” If Kurti can convince enough of his fellow-citizens that Thaci is moving too slowly or not exhibiting enough defiance of a definitely annoying Serbia, he has every opportunity to express his views and try to gather enough supporters to win political power. Attempting to rule from the streets didn’t work for Edi Rama, I’m not sure why he thinks it will work any better in Kosovo.
This business of blocking roads and customs points seems to be an old Balkan tradition, originating at a time when peasants simply had no other way of expressing their displeasure with the rich and powerful. In Serbia, it’s the time-honored means of raspberry farmers for negotiating their government subsidies. Greeks have used it for years to force the government into social expenditures it couldn’t afford. VV shouldn’t expect international support for trying it in Kosovo, which so far has shown commendable restraint in its negotiations with Serbia.
I agree that Kurti should be granted a U.S. visa – he really needs to get out more and see how the modern world operates.
Dear Daniel,
Perhaps you missed the whole point on this… perhaps as a citizen I need to remind you that the Parliament addopted a resolution to put the reciprocity back with Serbia but the government lead by Hashim Thaqi has not followed it. Please note that in any Republic the consitution binds Government to follow Parliaments resolutions, correct me if i am wrong…. What SelfDetermination did highlighted this thru a Peaceful Protests… and Yes, of course US, UK, France, Italy and Germany will back Hashim Thaqi on the crack down of the protest bcs they were the ones who advised Hashim Taqi not to follow the resolution…. right?
Your speaking like a true outsider! which does not want to understand the real thing in these protests. Those people u saw yesterday protesting are citizens of Kosovo which have spend their whole life contributing for their country they love and not requiring anything else in return except justice, that justice was taken from them in the last decision in the parliament. I believe Self-determination is the voice of common ppl in the parliament and that voice has to be respected. After the war ppl of these country are suffering from injustice and double standards, they are not sheep’s, they are just common citizens tired of all this injustice!
Doesn’t the constitution provide a method for resolving such disputes between the entities of the government? By appealing to the Constitutional Court, perhaps? The Court certainly acted fast enough when it came to ruling on whether Pres. Sejdiu was eligible to serve as president while continuing to be the (inactive) head of his political party.
It sounds like the Assembly voted to ignore an international agreement (even though Serbia denies that it’s either “international” or binding). But international treaties are above national law – are you certain that the Assembly had the right to pass a resolution to ignore the agreement’s provisions? (This is a question – I don’t know whether Serbia’s refusal to formally recognize the agreements also absolves Kosovo of the need to do so. I just know that it looks very bad.)
Taking to the streets, calling on the police to disobey official orders – that’s for dictatorships, where there is no other alternative. It sounds to this outsider like the dispute is being taken more as an opportunity for a political party to flaunt its power to cause disruption than a resort to the only means of resolving a constitutional problem. It wasn’t a good sign that the members of the Assembly arrested were all from the same party. The presence of Albania’s flag rather than Kosovo’s was also less than encouraging.
Kosovo’s best friends are all democracies, with long experience of what can go wrong in such a system. I suggest the people of Kosovo take advantage of all the mistakes their friends have made, and listen to their advice.
The Assembly decided for a reciprocity with Serbia which is currently not being observed. You should inform yourself better.
Yes, that was clear – but imposing “reciprocity” would involve breaking agreements arrived at with the Serbians, correct? Such as allowing free movement of goods and people. There was nothing conditional in the agreement about the behavior of the other side, was there?
Well, the US politics in general has been rather tolerant in the past 12 years towards the oppression and violence against the remaining Serbs in Kosovo, not to mention the full support for the glorious “conquista” of the North against its *human* inhabitants. Now there is suddenly this strictness towards the blockade of Serbian *goods*.
Maybe Albin and his friends got just confused.
Thaci has certainly played the game a lot more cleverly than Kurti has: he’s used force when it was possible to gain something by it, and avoided it when it would cost too much. As for Kurti – overturning trucks and throwing rocks at the police is counterproductive at the very least. But people are clearly tired of waiting, and such actions may win him some votes. If so, it will make Serbia very, very happy – they must be tired of being the only ones to score own-goals.